1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to the art of women's clothing accessories.
More particularly, this invention relates to a handbag.
In a further and more specific aspect, the instant invention relates to an arrangement for converting a handbag to a variety of different styles and colors.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Handbags are considered an indispensable part of most women's wardrobes. The typical woman owns not one but many handbags, each in a different style and color, depending on the image the woman wishes to project at a particular time. For formal occasions, for instance, evening bags are available in relatively expensive materials such as silk or beaded fabrics. For business, leather bags are generally considered most appropriate. For casual, everyday use, women often favor purses constructed of less expensive fabrics and manmade materials. For sports, sturdier materials such as canvas and denim are often used.
A number of problems are associated with the ownership of multiple handbags. The high cost of purchasing the handbags is perhaps the most obvious problem. Another problem is that the same set of items must generally be transferred from bag to bag. This can be a time consuming process, particularly if the woman wishes to organize the items in an orderly fashion within each bag. If the woman does not wish to transfer all the items from one purse to another, but only a selected few, then she must hunt through the interior of the bag, which is usually dark, and often cluttered. In addition, a small amount of dirt and debris may accumulate in a bag over a certain period of time, and this may be inadvertently carried over to a new bag when the contents are transferred.
In response to the above problems, many prior art attempts have been made to provide handbags which are capable of being converted into a variety of different styles. A typical prior art convertible handbag consists a generally rigid frame or bag body, and an assortment of interchangeable covers of different colors and styles for securing over the frame. In many cases, the covers are made of rather limp or delicate, inexpensive materials such as paper, since they are strictly ornamental in function and do not provide any kind of supporting structure. In other cases, the covers are made of rigid materials which are difficult to launder. Furthermore, the arrangements for securing the covers to the frames have been generally unsatisfactory, making it difficult to quickly change from one style to another.
It would be highly advantageous, therefore, to remedy the foregoing and other deficiencies inherent in the prior art.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a handbag which can readily be converted into a number of different styles.
Another object of the invention is the provision of a handbag liner which can be simply and quickly inserted into and removed from interchangeable outer handbag covers.
And another object of the invention is to provide a set of interchangeable liners for inserting into an outer handbag cover.
Still another object of the invention is the provision of a lined outer handbag cover having sufficient strength to be usable with its lining removed.
Yet another object of the invention is to provide a handbag having an outer cover with a carrying strap and an inner liner with handles for facilitating its removal from the outer cover.
Yet still another object of the invention is the provision of a handbag liner having dual-purpose fasteners usable for both securing the liner to an outer cover and for securing the top edges of the liner to one another.
And a further object of the invention is to provide a handbag with means for easily inspecting the contents of the bag.
And still a further object of the invention is to provide a transferable handbag liner with means for expelling dirt and small debris.
And still yet another object of the invention is to provide a handbag liner having an upright support member for carrying a plurality of suspended pockets.
And yet another object of the invention is to provide separable inner and outer handbag members which can be easily laundered.
And still a further object of the invention is to provide a handbag, according to the foregoing, which is relatively inexpensive and easy to manufacture.